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Postgame Notebook: Caps 5, Canes 3

Posted on April 03, 2013
by Mike Vogel

Big Game Hunters – Game number 36 on the Washington schedule
in this truncated NHL season put the Caps at the three-quarter mark of the
campaign. Down in Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes, it was also clearly the
biggest game of the season for both sides to date.

As they did on their last visit to PNC Arena, the Caps dug
themselves an 0-2 hole against their hosts. And as they did on their previous
visit, the Capitals rallied to get out of town with two hard-earned and much
needed points.

Tuesday night’s final was 5-3 in favor of the Caps, but it
didn’t come easy.

The Canes got the jump on Washington in the first, killing
off an Alexander Semin hooking minor and then getting the game’s first goal
from Jiri Tlusty at 11:32 of the first. Just over a minute later, Caps center
Jay Beagle went off for interference, and Tlusty fired a shot to the far side
on Caps goalie Braden Holtby to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Washington was having trouble getting pucks to
the net. Hurricanes skaters blocked seven of the Capitals’ first nine shot
bids, and the home team seemed to be on the verge of taking control.

Carolina entered the game both weary and wounded. The Canes were
weary because they had to travel home from Montreal after Monday night’s 4-1
loss to the Canadiens, By the time they cleared customs and made their way
home, it was 2 a.m. Carolina was wounded because it entered Tuesday’s game with
just one win in its last nine contests (1-7-1).

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin appeared to have been shot
out of a cannon in the first period. He launched Carolina forward Jeff Skinner
early in the contest, and seemed to have a jet back strapped to his back. In
the final minute of the first frame, Ovechkin took a pass from Nicklas
Backstrom and launched something else, his patented wrist shot. It eluded
Carolina goalie Dan Ellis and put the Caps back on the map at 2-1.

“Big goal by Ovi at the end of the first period,” says Caps
coach Adam Oates, “A huge goal. We had nothing. We gave them two [goals]. We
didn’t have a great start. A big goal for us to get back into the game and at
intermission to regroup.”

Early in the second, Skinner went to the box for smothering
the puck. When Mike Green’s drive from center point got past Ellis just 42
seconds into the second, it evened the game and gave the Caps their second goal
in a span of just 81 seconds.

“I think it was a big goal there,” says Backstrom.
“Obviously, you’re down 2-0 and you get a late goal there in the first period.
We got a little confidence from that. And we buried on the PP right away there
in the second period.”

A mere 34 seconds after Green evened the score at 2-2,
Ovechkin was called for hooking. Tlusty and the Canes cashed in quickly when
the left wing finished off a pretty passing sequence to complete his hat trick
and restore the Carolina lead at 3-2.

The Caps were undaunted. They knew that Ellis – just
activated off injured reserve the night before and winless lifetime against
Washington – vulnerable. The Hurricanes’ lead lasted less than three minutes
before Green drew the Caps even once again. Backstrom forced a Joni Pitkanen
turnover and teed the puck up for Green, who sailed a wrist shot past Ellis to
make it 3-3. It was at that point that the beleaguered Ellis was pulled in
favor of Justin Peters, owner of a 127-minute and 53-second shutout streak over
Washington at the time of his insertion.

Ovechkin solved the mystery that had been Justin Peters when
he fired a rocket of a shot past the Carolina goaltender at 11:06 of the
second, ending his shutout spell over Washington at 135 minutes and 33 seconds.

When Backstrom went off for interference at 18:32, the Canes
had a chance to draw even with their suddenly awakened power play.

Instead, the Caps pounced on a shorthanded opportunity.
Marcus Johansson intercepted Canes defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron’s pass near
the right point and tore down the left wing wall with Joel Ward alongside on a
2-on-1 rush. Johansson put a deft and sublime saucer pass right on Ward’s
stick, and the Caps had tallied in the final minute for the second time in as
many frames.

“It’s given us the momentum going into the next period,”
says Green of the crippling late-period goals. “It’s been good. We need goals
like that. We’ve been on the opposing end when guys have scored late in the
period and it kind of brings your morale down. It takes a while to get it
back.”

Washington killed off the remainder of the Backstrom minor
and expertly killed a John Carlson cross-checking infraction in the third as
they salted away the game and two more huge standings points.

“I’m really proud of them,” says Canes coach Kirk Muller. “I
thought they showed a lot of character. We battled hard. We probably
double-chanced them tonight in shots and chances. We just didn’t get the right
outcome.”

Number Nine, Number Nine – Ovechkin stretched his scoring
streak to nine straight games. He has totaled 10 goals and 15 points during the
life of his current streak.

Ovechkin’s last scoring streak of this length was a
nine-game spree from Jan. 27-Feb. 11, 2010, at the end of the team’s
franchise-record 14-game winning streak. Ovechkin had nine goals and 19 points
in those nine games. He had another nine-game streak just before that, and the
two nine-game streaks were separated by just one game without a point.

Ironically, that one game without a point was the game in
which an Ovechkin slapshot broke then-Islanders defenseman Jack Hillen’s jaw.
The Caps won that game 7-2 despite getting no offensive contributions from
their newly minted captain.

The last time Ovechkin had a scoring streak of as many as 10
games was late in the 2008-09 season when he reeled off three long streaks
separated by single goose-egg games. A 10-game streak from Jan. 27-Feb. 18,
2009 in which he totaled 11 goals and 16 points was followed by one scoreless
game and then another 10-game run from Feb. 22-March 14, 2009 that produced
seven goals and 14 points. After one more scoreless game, Ovechkin set out on a
nine-game spree that stretched from March 17-April 7 and produced six goals and
19 points.

The longest scoring streak of Ovechkin’s career is a 13-game
run from Jan. 1-Feb. 1, 2007, during his sophomore season of 2006-07. He
totaled eight goals and 20 points during that streak.

For the 2012-13 season, Ovechkin’s 37 points have him tied
for 10th in the NHL. He is the fifth player in the league to reach
the 20-goal plateau, and he is tied for third in the circuit in that category.

All Lined Up – Ovechkin’s linemates are both on scoring
tears of their own. With four primary assists in Tuesday’s tilt, Backstrom now
has four goals and 20 points in his last 17 games.

With a pair of helpers on Tuesday, Johansson now has four
goals and 12 points in his last 10 games.

The 400 Club – Backstrom’s second assist of the night was
his 400th career point and it came the game after his 400th
career game. He now has 402 career points (107 goals, 295 assists) in 401
career games in the NHL.

Green Means Go – Green has five goals and six points in his
last six games. Despite missing 13 games, he is tied for third in the NHL for
goals among defensemen with seven.

Does he feel like his radar is back?

“As far a seeing the ice when getting the opportunities,
everything kind of slows down again where you can kind of see the holes, yeah,
I would say so,” responds Green.

Road Warriors – Tonight concluded a grueling stretch of schedule in which
Washington played nine of its last 11 games on the road in a span of 20 nights.
That stretch looked a bit daunting when it started, as Washington carried a 3-7-1
road mark at that stage.

Washington started that stretch with a 3-2 win over the
Hurricanes here in Raleigh on March 14. They concluded it with tonight’s 5-3
win over the Canes, a win that gave left them with a 6-2-1 record during that
span.

Shorty – Ward’s shorthanded goal was the Capitals’ second in
the last three games and third of the season. For Ward, it was his first
regular season shorthanded goal since Jan. 11, 2010 when he scored a shorty
against Vancouver while playing with the Nashville Predators.

“Great timing,” says Ward of his goal, “We’ve been getting
some timely goals in key situations. I got a nice pass from Marcus and I just
had to get a good whack at it. I was fortunate to put one in. It definitely
felt good to contribute.”

The Capitals are tied for sixth in the league in shorthanded
goals.

Back In The Saddle – Caps defenseman John Erskine returned
to the lineup for the first time since March 9 after missing a dozen games with
an upper body injury.

Erskine logged 13:32 of ice time on Tuesday, all of it at
even strength. He recorded two hits and two blocked shots.

Top Of The Hill – It took 36 games, but Washington has
reached the break-even mark for the first time this season at 17-17-2. The Caps
have also ascended to .500 on the road for the season at 9-9-2.

“I wish we could have done it earlier,” says Ovechkin. “But
it is what it is. It feels good. We just have to play the same way.”

The Ladder – Tuesday’s win drew the Caps to within two
points of Winnipeg for the top spot in the Southeast Division, as the Jets
suffered a 5-2 road set back to the Islanders on Tuesday.

Washington put Carolina in the rear view mirror on Tuesday,
moving into second in the Southeast, two points up on the Canes. The Caps are
in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, one point behind the ninth-place
New York Rangers and three points behind the eighth-place New Jersey Devils and
the Islanders.

Destiny – Washington awakened in Raleigh on Tuesday morning
fully in charge of its own playoff destiny, courtesy of Winnipeg and Carolina
losses at New York and Montreal, respectively on Monday night.

With Tuesday’s win, the Caps maintained that destiny.
Although they trail the Jets by two points in the Southeast standings, the
Capitals hold two games in hand on Winnipeg and have one game remaining with
the Jets. If they win those games and match whatever Winnipeg does otherwise,
the Caps will finish ahead of the Jets.

Washington is now two points ahead of the Hurricanes, and
although the Canes hold a game in hand, the Caps would finish ahead of Carolina
if they win the one remaining game between the two teams this season while
matching whatever else the Canes do the rest of the way.

“We knew where we were and where we stand and what games are
the most important here,” says Green. “And tonight was the biggest one for us
yet. We needed to come out and play strong like we did and get the two points
because if we didn’t, we set ourselves way back. The guys pulled through; the
guys played great.”

Top Line Tussle – Carolina’s top offensive trio of Tlusty,
Eric Staal and Semin and Washington’s first line of Johansson, Backstrom and
Ovechkin figured prominently throughout the game.

When it was all said and done, the Caps’ top unit owned the advantage
on the night.

Washington’s top line combined for two goals, seven assists,
nine points, 14 shot attempts and six shots on goal; all six shots came from
Ovechkin’s stick. The trio was a combined plus-8 on the evening.

Carolina’s top trio put up three goals, four assists, seven
points, 16 shot tries and eight shots on goal. The threesome was a minus-8
overall.

Tough Loss – Late in the second period, Pitkanen barely beat
Caps’ winger Troy Brouwer to a puck on an icing touch-up, but he did so at a
serious cost. Pitkanen lost his edge and went into the boards hard, suffering
an ankle injury that is expected sideline him for three months.

New Blood – Having acquired journeyman defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron from
Tampa Bay in a deal earlier in the day, Carolina gave its newest rearguard a
sweater for Tuesday’s game. The Canes went with seven defensemen and 11
forwards in their lineup.

Obtained to help boost the moribund Carolina power play,
Bergeron helped achieve that effect. Carolina scored two power play goals in
four tries on Tuesday against Washington, marking the first time in 23 games
the Canes have had multiple power play goals in the same game.

Bergeron has been a bit of a Caps killer over the years, and
he notched an assist on Tlusty’s second goal of the night. Lifetime against
Washington, Bergeron now has two goals and a dozen points in a dozen career
contests.

Bergeron can also be a bit of a liability, and he showed
that aspect of his game tonight, too. It was his giveaway on the Carolina power
play that led to Ward’s shorthanded goal.

Although he has played fewer than 500 career NHL games,
Bergeron has now worn the sweaters of seven different NHL clubs.

By The Numbers – Carolina had 65 shot attempts to 43 for
Washington on the night … Green led the Caps with 24:21 in ice time … Ovechkin
(six) and Green (four) combined for 10 shots on net, more than half of
Washington’s total of 19 … Aaron Volpatti led the Caps with six hits and did so
with just 8:00 in ice time … Carlson led the Caps with four blocked shots … Jay
Beagle won eight of 10 face-offs (80%) … Volpatti was the only Washington
forward who did not take a face-off in the game … Nine of the 11 Carolina
forwards took at least one draw … Skinner led the Canes with 22:10 in ice time
and five shots on net … Drayson Bowman paced the Hurricanes with five hits …
Jay Harrison led Carolina with four blocked shots.